It Can Only Make You Stronger
by Avoline Malfoy
Summary: *Adopted from Twipotterfreak28* Hermione and Draco were happy. They were planning to have a baby, in fact. But three little words ruined their happy picture. Now they're trading cradles for chemotherapy, and baby shoes for IV drips. But the blond haired, brown eyes little girl won't stop appearing everywhere he looks. Hopefully, he'll get to hold that little girl in his arms.
1. The Beginning of it All

_So, I just adopted this story from Twipotterfreak28. The first seven chapters are all her work, any after that are my work. Neither of us are getting paid for this. It is simply for enjoyment._

* * *

_Hey. This is a story I've written for someone special, who has recently passed away from cancer. R&R please, No flames. Big thanks to my beta, who helped me work out some kinks. Ghoststar54! Also, alexa, I changed the name of this story to something else than what I originally planned. Sorry…_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry potter_

(Hermione pov)

"Cancer." She said, no pity in her voice, like she'd told hundreds of women that they were going to die.

"No, no it's not possible. You must have me confused with someone else." I whispered, unable to speak any louder.

"Mrs. Malfoy, I'm very sorry. We can look at various treatment options once we take a few more scans. I'll just give you two a minute." The oncologist said. Without giving me a second glance, she then left the room, leaving Draco and I sitting on her couch, shocked beyond belief.

"Hermione, I- I'm sorry….." He said, his voice fading when he saw tears spilling down my face. He put his arms around me, and carefully put my head on his shoulder.

"why?" I said, my words cracking.

"huh?" Draco said, managing to make his voice sound like something other than sorrow.

"Why do the bad things always happen to good people? I've never stolen anything in my life, I've had good grades, I've been nice to everyone I've ever met, I was completely healthy, and then this happened. I just want to know why." I said, crying harder on the last sentence.

"I don't know. I really don't know. It's gonna be okay, baby." He said, cradling me before I threw his arms off me.

"You don't know that! Do you know how serious this is! I could die, Draco! I'm only 23 years old! We've only been married for two years, and you could be a widower! There are some many things I still want to do! I want to have kids, and grand kids and a family! But we might not ever get the chance to!" I screamed, letting out loud sobs when he pulled me back to his chest.

"Shh, Hermione. I'm here. I've got you. You'll get through this. We'll get through this. I'll be with you every step of the way." He said, rubbing my back, trying to soothe me.

"Pinky Promise?" I said, sniffing a bit, and holding out my left pinky.

"Pinky Promise." He replied, twisting his pinky in mine, and kissing my forehead.

The doctor then chose this moment to re-enter the room. "So, we need to discuss treatment options, but first I would like to discuss more about the situation." She said, folding her hands together on her desk.

"O-kay." I said, looking down at my feet.

"So, as you already know, the tumor is on your left breast, and it's a fairly good size. The good news is you are only in stage three right now. If we had detected it earlier…" She said, my mind fading out into my memories as I heard her speak.

*Flashback*

"Hermione, I think we need to go to the doctor. This is the fifth time in the past three days you've thrown up. Are you sure you aren't pregnant?" Draco said, holding my hair as I was violently sick over the toilet.

"No, I'm not pregnant. And no, I don't want to go to the doctor. Doctors mean needles. It's probably just the flu or something." I said, getting up of the bathroom floor. I immediately stumbled, and draco caught me just before I hit the ground. "I just need to go lie down."

This continued for the next week, until I finally told Draco about the lump. I had found it a week earlier, but I didn't want to admit it to myself, even though I already knew what it was.

*End Flashback*

"Mrs. Malfoy?" The doctor said, drawing me back to reality.

"I- I'm sorry. I must have zoned out. Could you repeat that please?" I said, my face void of any emotion.

"Very well. Like I was saying, if we had detected it earlier, we would have more options, but you're lucky we found it now. So you have three options. Option one, you can leave this untreated and you would have about two years left. Option two, We can do a double mastectomy and a few chemo/radiation treatments. Or option three, we can just do the chemo and radiation, without the mastectomy. The odds on the cancer coming back with chemo alone are twice as high than with a mastectomy and chemo. I'll let you two go home and think about this for a while. I'll schedule another appointment for you two tomorrow. Have a nice day." She said, ushering us toward the door. We left the women's center, and got in the car without saying a word.

The ride home was completely silent. Draco had not attempted to say anything. He valued my sanity too much. When we reached our house near Godric's Hollow, I slowly got out of the car and went inside the house. I immediately went to my room, got in the middle of the bed, and laid there for three hours, just staring at the ceiling. Draco offered me food and someone to talk to numerous times, but I had just blown every attempt off. After about the 15th time, he didn't know what to do, so he called Harry and Ginny. They lived within walking distance of us, so it wasn't long before they slowly walked into my room, and sat on either side of me.

"Hey Hermione." Harry said, grabbing my hand and lightly squeezing.

"Harry…" I said, leaning into his embrace. We were both laying flat on our backs, with his arms around me. It wasn't awkward at all. We had been friends too long for that.

"Hermione, Draco told Ginny and I about your…. Situation. I'm not going to pretend I understand what you're going through, But I do want to be here for you. Draco also said that you have to decide what to do by tomorrow. Do you want to talk about it?" He said, hope in his soft voice.

"I don't know. Can you call Draco in here? Please?" I asked.

"Sure. Anything for you." He said, kissing my forehead in a brotherly way. He then left the room and Draco entered moments later.

"Hey baby." He said, getting on our bed and curling up next to me, putting his arms around me just like Harry had.

"I think I've made my decision."

"Already?" He said, sounding surprised.

"Well I sat here for three hours thinking about it. I've decided to go ahead and get the mastectomy and do the chemo." I said, sighing an putting my head deeper into his chest.

"Okay, well I'll tell Harry and Ginny." He said, getting up to leave the room. But, before he left, I saw something I never thought I would see. A single tear rolled down his pale cheek. I had never seen him cry before.

I got up and went into the bathroom to throw up again. After I was finished, I lifted up my shirt and looked in the mirror.

"Draco! Come here, quickly! I- I think it's getting bigger." I said, touching the small bulge on the underside of my right breast.

"Hermione, what is it?" Draco said, coming into the bathroom.

"Look, It's all red, and it has gotten bigger." I said, showing him the bulge.

"I think you're right. I'll call the doctor." He said, about to walk out of the bathroom before I stopped him.

"D- Draco, wait." I said, starting to feel dizzy.

"Yes, love?" He said, coming to stand in front of me.

"C- Catch me." I said, falling over into his arms as the darkness engulfed me. The last thing I heard was a voice yelling 'Hermione'.

All of my plans, ruined. Everything I've worked on, changed. My life, turned upside down.

That was the day, my world…

Shattered.

A/N: So did you like it? The next chapter should be up soon. Please, review. -nikki a.k.a.- twipotterfreak28


	2. Realizations

Hey! So here's chapter two! Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry potter.

(Hermione pov)

*o0o*

Footsteps. Both Coming and going. Where was I?

"Hermione, Hermione, please. Please wake up." It was Draco. He sounded so…. Broken. Like someone had died or something.

I tried really hard to wake up, but when I had almost completely pushed the black away, it would suck me right back in. I didn't have the strength to even move my lips. I tried for what seemed like hours, until I finally had enough strength to say something.

"Draco…." I said, my voice cracking and fading.

"Hermione! Hermione, sweetheart, stay with me. Don't leave me." He pleaded.

I brought my hand up to his face, and gently rubbed his cheek. Then I opened my eyes to see a sight I wish I hadn't. Draco was a mess. He had tear tracks on his cheeks, his nose was bright red, and his hair was completely out of order. He looked like he had been crying for days. Wait, how long was I unconscious?

"Don't cry." I said gently, wiping away his tears.

"I- I thought I lost you." He replied, taking his sleeve and wiping the rest of his face. I was about to ask him something, before he said something first. "I'm sorry mione. You must have a bunch of questions. Um, yesterday, you were standing in the bathroom and then you fainted. I caught you though. Then harry and ginny and me brought you here. It's a muggle hospital. You've been out for just over 14 hours. The doctor said that they would like for you to get the surgery done in two days."

I then started crying once I realized I hadn't asked the most important question of all. "Why can't they just fix the cancer with magic?"

Draco paled at this. "Well, I called Madame pomfrey after we got home from the oncologist, and I gave her your x-rays. She said that the muggle way would be the only option. Your breast tumor is connected to some vital nerves, and the only way to take it out is to cut around it. If the took the tumor out magically, the nerves would be damaged and it would affect your nervous system."

"How badly?" I asked.

"You could have random twitches, partial paralysis, and maybe even some problems with having kids. And I know how much you want to have a baby. Plus, you could lose all of your hair. Don't ask me how, but it's just a possibility." He said, squeezing my hand tighter.

I then reached up to itch my nose, and found that an oxygen line had been placed there. When I tried to pull It off, a button beside my bed started to flash, and a nurse came in.

"I'm sorry miss, but I you can't take that off." She said, fixing the tubes. I then immediately tried to rip them off again. "Miss, you have to leave these here."

"No! I- I want to go home!" I screamed, still messing with the tubes under my face. The nurse grabbed my wrists as tight as she could, and yelled for the doctor.

"Miss, if you don't stop this I'm going to have to sedate you." The doctor said, holding my legs when I started kicking them.

"Hermione, please, stop love." Draco said, still sitting beside me, trying to calm me down.

It didn't work. "No! Let go of me! I Didn't ask for this! I want to go home!" I screamed even louder. The doctor, having had enough of my yelling, reached over and grabbed a syringe with a needle on the end. He stuck the needle in my IV and pushed it's contents into the bag.

I immediately started to feel woozy, so I took my one last opportunity to yell before I drifted off again into the black. "No! Stop! I want my life back! I want to go home! I- I want my dad…." I said, before my limbs fell dead at my side, and I faded into unconsciousness.

My dad was murdered five years ago, and My mother had died a year before that. My father was killed In front of me. He was murdered by Bellatrix Lestrange, at Malfoy Manor. She had hexed Draco before she killed my father. Apparently, she knew Draco would try to stop her. My dad's last words still haunted me to this day. 'Please, survive, for me' He said, just before the witch slashed his throat. Now, I felt like I was failing him. He asked for one thing. And I might not even be able to do that. I knew I had cried in my sleep, but It had never been this bad. I was shaking and tears were running steadily down my cheeks.

Why did this have to happen to me? Why? I haven't done ANYTHING wrong! I gave up my family to save the wizarding world, just to die 5 years later. I mean seriously! I want to know why!

"I know Draco. It's going to be okay." Ginny said from across the room. What was she doing here? Why was she comforting my husband?

"You don't know that. She- she could die." He said, and I could hear the sadness in his heart with every word he spoke.

"You're right. I don't. But you have to stay strong for Hermione. She's going to need you to help her get through this." She said, and I could hear footsteps fading, which meant she left the room.

Draco then came and sat in his chair, beside my bed. He put his hands on either side of my face and leaned in close to my face. This meant he was going to kiss me. But then he did something else. He got so close that our bottom lips were barely touching, but then he abruptly pulled back, leaned back in his chair, and sighed deeply. He had never done that before. Something was wrong.

Well, something was wrong with Draco, but something else was wrong too. My arms and legs started to tingle, and my eyes started to hurt. It felt like I was being forced to wake up. I then opened my eyes.

"Welcome back Mrs. Malfoy. I need to examine you." It was my oncologist. She then undid the buttons on my gown, and examine my chest. I saw Draco turn around. It was like he was disgusted by me or something. This made me even sadder.

"Well, It looks like the cancer is spreading faster than we thought. I'm afraid we're going to have to do the surgery today. There is a spot open in twenty minutes. I'll have a nurse come and prep you." She said, still emotionless and uncaring.

"Hello Miss….. Malfoy is it?" A nurse said as she came walking into the room with a surgical prep kit. I nodded my head at her question. "I'm just going to prep you now."

10 minutes later…..

The nurse was putting my hair in a surgical cap, and Draco now sat in a corner staring at me with a thoughtful look. He hadn't touched me in the past ten minutes. He wouldn't even hold my hand when I asked him to. He just said something like 'It's okay' and sat in his chair. Did he not know that you cannot catch cancer by skin contact?

"Okay, Malfoy comma Hermione, we're ready for you." A scrub nurse said, before coming over to my bed, and putting the rails up. He then proceeded to wheel me down the hall, with Draco following behind.

"Sorry mister Malfoy, but this is as far as you go." The doctor said, stopping just before the doors to surgery.

"Bye." I said to him, holding out my hand and slightly pushing out my lips so he could kiss me. He just reluctantly putting his hands around mine, and patted them. He did not dare to kiss me. As I was wheeled into the O.R., leaving Draco standing in the hall, I couldn't help but think a few things.

Why was Draco acting this way? Am I going to make it through this? And most importantly, was My marriage going to make it through this? I was pulled out of my thoughts when My hospital gown was pulled down, leaving my chest bared, and a blue sheet was place over my chest. My hands were then strapped down so that I was laying in the shape of a cross. The doctors then went and stood around my torso, and the oncologist came and stood by my head.

"Okay Hermione, I need to take some deep breaths and count to 100." He said, placing the mask over my face.

"One, two… three…." I said, not able to finish before I was sucked back into the blackness for the third time today. As was thrown into unconsciousness, I couldn't help but notice some things.

My marriage was cracking from underneath me, my life was being torn apart from the inside out, my soul mate was drifting away from me, and my happiness was being ripped from my hands.

The only thing that could give me the smallest glimpse of hope were the last words my mother said to me:

'No matter what hardships you may face, just remember this. It can only make you stronger.'

Sure mom. We'll see.

*o0o*

A/N: So? Did you like it? Please, tell me your thoughts.

2 review for next chapter

Review, and check out my other stories as well. I have some Dramione's and one Harry/Ginny. Thank you for reading my stories, please, stick around. -nikki a.k.a.- twipotterfreak28


	3. Only 23

Hey, so yeah. It chapter three! This chapter has a slight amount of 'colorful' language in it. Um, sorry for those of you who are reading my other fic 'no broken hearted girl', yeah haven't updated that for a while. I'll get to that later. Anywho…. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

*o0o*

(Draco pov)

"Bye." Hermione said, holding out her hand and pushing her lips out for me to kiss her.

I very slowly put my hands in hers, and just patted them. She still sat there, wanting me to kiss her. But, I just couldn't. I don't know why, but, there was something stopping me. The look on her face as she was rolled into the O.R. made me immediately regret my decision, but it also made me glad I hadn't kissed her. I knew it was wrong of me, but I couldn't get past the feeling that it was somehow wrong.

"The waiting room is just around the corner, Mr. Malfoy." A scrub nurse told me, just before she went through the double doors too.

As slowly as I possibly could, I turned around, and walked through the halls toward the waiting room. To my surprise, Harry was sitting there as well. He motioned for me to sit in the chair next to him, and I reluctantly obliged.

"Malfoy, I-" He said.

"Why are you here?" I asked, cutting him off the rudest possible voice I could, which wasn't very much. I still sounded broken.

"I've been here. For a while now." He said, which made me feel even worse about myself. How much had he seen?

"How long have you-"

"Long enough to see that stunt you pulled in the hospital room, and the hallway." He said, cutting me off like I did him.

"Oh." I replied.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He said, unusually loud. Which surprised me.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me Malfoy! What on earth would possess you to do that to Hermione?" He said, getting angry.

"I don't think that's any of your business, potter! She's my wife, not yours!" I yelled, moving away from him.

"You're right, she's not my wife, and it probably isn't any of my business, but she is my best friend! And that makes it my business!" He said, getting up to stand in front of me.

"I don't have to explain myself to you, potter." I spat.

He fumed visibly at this, and couldn't find anything to say. "You're just going to sit there and let Hermione go through this by herself? Well Damn you Malfoy! I'll be there for her, even though you won't be." He said, turning to walk away, but turn back around to say one last thing to me. "And another thing, she's your wife! Now I know that rules have always been a bit shaky for you, but do you not remember the words 'for better or worse'? Five years ago, You promised her you would be there for her if something ever happened. Well now something is happening, and what are you doing?"

I didn't answer.

"Breaking promises. Like always." He spat at me, and walked away, expecting me not to say anything back. As if.

"Potter!" I yelled at him, which made him stop walking and turn around to look at me. "Would you like to know why I can't be there for Her? Why I am the way I am?" I paused, not giving him a chance to answer my question.

"Because I had a sister. Key term, had." I said, almost crying at the memory of my dead older sister. "Her name was Anna. She died when I was 12, and was only 23. Can you guess how old Hermione is?" I said, letting my tears flow down my cheeks.

"Twenty-three." Harry whispered, and sat down next to me again. When he didn't say anything else, I continued to speak.

"I was only a kid then. When she died. I didn't know any better. I thought she just had some sort of cold. So, the summer After first year ended, I went to live with her. My parents had told me not to, but I pushed and pushed until they gave in. Now, I wish I had listened to them. I spent those three months by her bedside. I never left. I held her hand all day, and all night. I remember kissing her cheek and telling her everything was going to be okay. Growing up, I had always told her that I was going to marry a girl as pretty as her. She had long, straight blond hair, and the bluest eyes I had ever seen. But, that last week, I couldn't even recognize her. Her hair was so pale it was almost white, and her eyes were a sickly pale grey. She told me that she had to leave. Soon. And me being a child, I couldn't figure out why. So when I asked her, she said that I wouldn't be seeing her anymore. She said that when I was older, I would understand. She told me this the day before she died. She looked so weak, like just telling me those things took all her strength. I didn't want to let her go, So I slept in her bed that night, right beside her, holding her hand. When I woke up, my mother was standing beside the bed. And when I looked over at Anna-" I paused, to wipe my tears. "Her eyes were still shut, and she wasn't breathing. I was still holding her hand, and I squeezed it tighter, and yelled for her to wake up. After about the third yell, My mother had to drag me off of her bed. She told me that Anna was in a better place, and I couldn't think of a better place than with me."

Harry hadn't said anything, and he was now silently crying. Not for me, but for my sister.

"I was there, holding her hand every day, and telling her that she was going to be okay. My point is that, I grew closer to her than I ever had to anyone in my life. She understood me, like no one else did. And then she was just gone. Being with her everyday for the remainder of her life, made it that much harder to let go." I said, finally getting my point across.

We sat there in silence. Me thinking of my sister's last days, and Harry pondering what to say next. "Are you going to say anything?" I asked after five minutes of silence.

"What do you want me to say?" He said, looking me dead in the eyes.

"I don't know, anything! I just told you about my worst childhood memory, something that I hadn't spoken of in eleven years!" I yelled, getting up and going to stand by the window, tears still falling from my eyes.

"Draco," He said, using my given name. "just because… that….. Happened, doesn't mean that it'll be the same with Hermione."

"But this is how it started out! She's the same age for Merlin's sake!" I screamed causing several people to look at me.

"Draco, I can't tell you that it's going to be okay, because I don't know. No one does. I'm sorry about what happened to you, But I have to tell you this. Distancing yourself from her is not the way to go. Sure you'll be lessening your emotional trauma, but you'll also be adding to hers. And if, only if, Hermione does die, you'd have to live with yourself, knowing that you weren't there, and that she died by herself. Just….. something to think about." He said, patting my back, grabbing his coat, and walking out of the hospital.

As I watched Him get into his car, and drive home to his wife that wasn't in the hospital, I found that his words still lingered in my head.

'You'd have to live with yourself, knowing that you weren't there, and that she died by herself.'

"I'm looking for the Malfoys." I doctor wearing scrubs called, effectively breaking me out of my trance.

"Um, that's me." I said, making the doctor come and stand in front of me.

"Please, take a seat Mr. Malfoy." He said, sitting down. I sat down next to him, mentally preparing myself for some sort of bad news.

"How is she?" I asked.

"Well, when we were in there, We found that the tumor was bigger than we thought. We got most of it out, but there was a small bit we had to leave in, because It was connected to her back muscles. Now because Of this, there is a greater chance of relapse. She made it through okay, and a surgical resident is currently taking her back to her room. But, I recommend that you do at least 5 rounds of chemo."

"But the recommended is only 3."

"I know, but if you go five there is an 85 percent chance she wont relapse. If you only do three, there is only a 53 percent chance. I'm going to send a nurse to her room tomorrow, to go over the chemo with you two. Ms. Malfoy is going to need to stay here for at least a week. But for now, you can go see her. She's sedated, but she should wake up in a few hours." He said, standing up when I did.

"Um, thank you. Thank you so much." I said, shaking his hand, and going to see Hermione.

When I got to the room, I stood outside for a minute, wondering what I should do. To minutes later, I walked into the room, and found Hermione laying on the bed, with bandages wrapped around her chest, and several tubes in her arm. As I sat down in the chair next to her bed, there was one thing I couldn't stop thinking about.

I had a choice to make.

*o0o*

A/N: Sorry to end it there guys, but it just had to be this way. I hope this answered your questions about Draco. And please, no flames. If your going to review, keep your bad comments to yourself. I'm okay with criticism, but please don't insult me. One person told me my grammar was so bad, she thought English wasn't my first language. So please, Review, but no flames. Gosh, I sound all weird and depressed, don't I? Well whatever! Haters gonna hate. It's what they do. -nikki a.k.a- twipotterfreak28


	4. Choices and Children

Hey, so I know it's been a while since I've updated…. So uh…. Sorry! I've been busy with my other stories 'no broken hearted girl' and 'In death, there is life'. I recommend u read those if you like Dramione's! okay so…. Enjoy the chapter….although it's a bit dark.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. That remains the sole property of the beautiful and talented Mrs. Joanne Kathleen Rowling.

(Draco pov)

_Beep….beep….beep…_

The steady beat of her heart was all that could touch me right now. Not the doctors asking me questions, not the nurses checking on Hermione, nothing. Just my wife's damaged heart. Then, the beat got faster, and I knew what that meant: she was waking up. Slowly, but surely.

_What do I do? What do I do? I can stay and comfort my dying wife, or I can… no! I'm not even going to consider it!_

As I had an internal debate with myself, I hadn't noticed Hermione open her eyes, and stare at me. I hadn't noticed I had an angry scowl on my face, either.

"I- If you don't stop making that face, It'll f-freeze that way." She groaned, trying to sit up, wincing as pain shot through her chest.

I immediately changed my facial expression and leaned into toward Hermione. "Baby, don't stress yourself. You just had major surgery." I said, gently pushing her back onto the bed, and putting her hand in mine.

"And why do you care?" She said, jerking her hand away from mine, crossing her arms, and looking toward the door.

"Because you're my wife, and I'm your husband. I've always cared about you." I replied, putting my hand on her shoulder, and trying to get her to look at me.

"Well you sure haven't showed how much you 'care' about me." She snapped, shrugging my hand off her shoulder. I then moved to the other side of her bed, and kneeled so that I was eye-level with her.

"Hermione, I need to tell you something about me. Something about my past, that you should know." I said, grabbing her hand no matter how hard she tried to jerk it away.

"Why should I listen to anything you have to say? You didn't even kissed me before I went into surgery!" She yelled.

"Hermione, if I tell you this, there's a chance you might understand. This story does not justify my actions, but it does explain them. Just please, let me tell you." I begged.

"Fine." She spat.

"Did I ever tell you I had a sister?" I asked, making her eyes go wide.

"I think That's something I needed to know." She said, a little less angry this time, but the frustration was still there, none the less.

"I don't like to talk about her. I haven't spoken of her in eleven years, until today." I said, taking a breath, and continuing my story when she nodded. "When I was 12, my sister, Anna, got really sick, and I went to live with her because I thought I could make her better somehow. I had no idea, but she had breast cancer. She was so beautiful. But the last week of her life, she looked like hell. She had completely changed, and she lost a lot of weight. The last night of her life, she told me she had to leave, and that she wouldn't be coming back. I didn't want to let her go, so I slept in her bed, with arms around her that night. And when I woke up, she…" I stopped, letting tears roll down my cheek. Hermione's face was emotionless. "She was dead. I remember I yelled for her to wake up for a long time. My parents had to drag me off of her body. She was the same age as you. 23. Her lifeless blue eyes still haunt me to this day." I finished.

Hermione had said nothing, but she let a tear roll down her cheek.

"I was there, holding her hand every day, and telling her that she was going to be okay. I grew closer to her than I ever had to anyone in my life. She understood me, like you do. And then she was just gone. Being with her everyday for the remainder of her life, made it that much harder to let go. You are my Anna, Hermione. You know me like she did. I don't want to have to let go of you. I don't want to live in a world where you don't exist." I said, letting every tear I had roll down my face.

Hermione then putt her hands on either side of my face, and pulled me close enough to look at her. "Draco, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry you had to go through that when you were just a kid." She whispered.

"You shouldn't be sorry. You shouldn't be sorry for anything. I'm the one who should be sorry for making you miserable because I can't handle this." I said, walking to the window and looking at the floor, not wanting to meet her eyes.

"Honey, listen. I forgive you. I know this must be hard for you, but I'm not your sister. I am your wife. I am not going to die-" She said before I interrupted.

"You don't know that!" I snapped from the other side of the room.

"Yes I do! I am not going to die! You of all people should know that I don't go down without a fight! You are not going to have to say goodbye to me! I am going to die when I'm old and gray, not young and in a hospital bed!" Hermione yelled. I turned around to see tears coming down her cheeks as well.

"You don't-"

"YES I DO!" She screamed, interrupting me.

"Is there something wrong?" A nurse said, opening the door.

"Get out!" Hermione screamed, throwing a pillow, making the nurse close the door. "Now you listen to me!" This time her comment was directed at me.

"Mione-"

"NO! Listen to me! I am your wife! You took vows! Or did you forget that? What about _to have and to hold, in sickness and in health?_ Was that all just empty words?" She yelled, pausing to take a breath. "You need to get it together! I need you right now! This is just a test of our marriage! Do you love me enough to help me get through this?"

"yes."

"Then prove it!" She said, her voice breaking on the last words.

I walked over to her, laid next to her in the bed, and pulling her close, letting her cry into my chest. _She's right_, I thought. I noticed that, as she cried, I couldn't feel her chest rising on mine anymore. I then looked down. Her chest was completely flat, with a bandage covered in small spots of blood across it.

"Hermione, I am so sorry. I am more sorry than you will ever know. I will be by your side every second humanly possible. I will do everything I can to make you happy. I promise you, with my whole heart, that I will love you until the day you die. Whether that day is in 6 weeks, or 60 years. I promise I'll help you get through this." I said, kissing her hair, and wiping her tears away when she looked up at me.

"Promise?" She asked, sniffing.

"Yes. Just keep your heart beating." I said, before the doctor came into the room.

"Good afternoon Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy. We need to discuss some things." He said, taking a seat in the chair beside Hermione's bed.

"Is this about the chemo?" Hermione asked, the both of us sitting up to talk to him.

"Yes. You'll start chemo in one week. We are going to start you off with a low dose of an alkylating agent. This is to stop the existing cancer cells in your body to stop multiplying. You'll have to stay here for the day after that. Then two days after you've been given the agent, we are going to give you a dose of IL2. This is to kill the cancer cells. The IL2 will cause your body to attack itself. You are going to feel the worst you ever have. You will get sick, but this is normal. Three doses is one round. We'll need to do five, since there were cancer cells that spread to your abdomen and back. You'll need to stay here from the second round to the end. As for now, you are allowed to leave in three days. Then you'll have to be back at 10 a.m. next Tuesday. Any questions?" He asked, finishing his explanations.

"What's the chance of me surviving this?" Hermione asked, worry etched in her voice.

"There's a 60-40 chance you'll survive without any permanent damage." He replied.

"What do you mean, _'damage'_?" I asked, hugging my wife closer to me.

"Well, with this amount of radioactive chemicals inside her body there is a possibility that she could need a new kidney, have seizures, or damage her reproductive system."

And that was it right. The thing Hermione feared most. She might not ever be able to have a baby of her own. She might never feel the joy of having a child call her 'mommy'.

"Okay, thank you." I said, hugging my wife as I felt new tears fall onto my shirt. The doctor looked at us once, gave a sad smile, and left the room.

"I don't know if I want to do this." Hermione said, making me gasp.

"What?" I asked.

"I don't kno can do this. He said I might never be able to have kids." She whispered.

"No, no baby. We'll have kids. Don't worry, love."

"But he said-"

"Don't think about what he said. It'll be alright. We'll have two kids. A boy and a girl. We'll have to boy first so he can protect his little sister. Our son with have chestnut brown hair just like yours, and light gray eyes like mine." I cooed.

"What about our daughter?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, she'll be perfect. She have long, straight blonde hair, and milk chocolate brown eyes. She'll be beautiful, just like her mother." I said, making her smile a little.

"I love you." She said, holing me tight.

"I love you more." I said, kissing her forehead.

And for the rest of the night, we just sat there. Talking about kids, and what our lives well be like when this is all over. We never once thought about death. We had blocked it out so we could focus on the happiness. Then we looked into each other's eyes, and said 'I love you'. Hermione fell asleep in my arms, and I held her all night, wishing that moment would never end.

_A/N: So was it good? Feel free to tell me._

_2 reviews for next chapter_

_Thanks for reading! I'll update soon! -nikki a.k.a.- twipotterfreak28_


	5. I'm Gonna Love You Through It

_Hey, it's been almost 2 months since I've updated, and I'm sorry about that. I've been focusing on other stories. I hope you enjoy!_

_To: __**Lost-and-trapped**__, I looked up the song lyrics and the looked perfect. Thanks for the suggestion. They are my inspiration for this chapter._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry potter._

_**(Draco pov)**_

"Ow, ow, OW!" Hermione said, as the nurse got her out of the hospital bed, and into a wheelchair. Today was the day I got to take her home. It had been three days since she had the surgery, and then we had to be back here in four days to start her chemo.

"I know. It's going to hurt for awhile until your nerves get a chance to repair themselves." She said, taking Hermione's blanket and putting it over her knees.

"Is there anything I should know about, or not do?" I said, fiddling with my thumbs as I held Hermione's things.

"Well, she does not need to be lifting things over ten pounds, no running, and absolutely no intercourse, so as to not reopen the scars." She said casually.

"Got it." I said, and I walked over to Hermione and began to push her out of the room.

"Mr. Malfoy! You can't leave until your wife signs the discharge papers!" Our nurse said, following me out of the room.

"I got this, Laura!" I shouted over my shoulder. I then sped up so she couldn't catch up with us again.

"I need the discharge papers for Malfoy comma Hermione." I said to the small blonde woman at the nurses station.

"Draco…." Hermione said, trying to hide her face.

"I got this, Love." I said, taking the papers out of the nurse's hands, and giving it to Hermione. A few minutes later, everything was signed, and I was trying to get Hermione in the car.

"I can do this. Just give me a minute." Hermione said. She was trying to push herself out of her wheelchair and into the open door of our prius.

That's right, I said Prius. Because apparently, my motorcycle Hermione used to love riding when we were dating wasn't 'safe' enough for married life. And what car would Hermione think was absolutely 'adorable'? A prius. Now, I may not know much about muggles, but I do know that this car was not very manly.

"Love, let me help you." I said, moving over to her.

"No. I. Have. This." She said, holding out her hand. She then tried to get up again.

"Oh, for the love of-" I said, sliding my arms under her knees and neck, and putting her in the car bridal-style.

I then went around, and got in the driver's side.

"I could've dome it myself." Hermione said, buckling her seat-belt.

"Hermione, asking for help doesn't mean that you're weak. It just means that you're human." I said, buckling up, and starting the car. We drove for a while until we got to an old pub. I got out of the car, grabbed the wheelchair out of the trunk, and put it in front of Hermione's open door.

"Do not help me. I have this." Hermione said sternly, and I backed up a few steps. Ten full minutes later, she was in the chair, and I was wheeling her into the pub.

"Malfoy. Hermione." The bartender said, nodding to each of us as we went into the back, where the brick wall was.

I tapped on four of the bricks, the wall opened up, and soon enough, I was wheeling Hermione through Diagon Alley, toward the Weasly Joke shop.

"Love, I asked Madame Pomfrey, and she said that you couldn't apparate until you got you're stitches taken out. So, George is going to let us get to the house through his floo." I said, and she just nodded. I wheeled her into the joke shop, picked Hermione up, and carried her up the stairs to the office.

I knocked on George's door with my foot. "It's open." He said.

I carefully opened the door, walked in, and set Hermione down on one of the chairs.

"Mia!" George said, smiling when he realized who was in his office.

"You know I don't like that nickname." Hermione said, smiling.

"I know, that's why I keep using it. it's better than-" He started to say.

"Don't say it!" Hermione, shushing George. The nickname he was going to use was 'Lady Ferret'. I still couldn't see why the Weaslys couldn't let that one go. It was way back in fourth year, after all.

"Fine, fine. So, how are you feeling?" He said, getting up, and coming to sit on the edge of his desk in front of 'Mione. I sat next to her, my arm around her shoulders.

"Sore. Like someone stabbed me in the chest." Hermione said, jokingly.

"Well, gee, that sound's pleasant." He laughed. "I guess I'll let you two-"

"Dad!" A small voice shouted, and then a little red headed boy ran into the room, latching onto George, with a thin Brunette running behind him.

"Sorry, honey. He's been bugging me all day to tell you something." The woman said, going over to George, and kissing him.

"It's okay, Angie. So, what's up, little man?" He said, and I realized that this was his son. Fred Weasly II.

"Daddy! I got a hundred on my math test today!" The little boy squealed.

"That's great, Fred! You know, I think you'll be just as smart as Auntie Hermione when you grow up. If you're lucky, you might even be as smart as your mom." George said, looking over at the brunette, who was blushing.

I finally recognized that woman. Angelina Johnson. She was a Ravenclaw in me and Hermione's year. I remember her as the seeker for the Ravenclaw quidditch team. In the one season that she was the seeker, Ravenclaw house won almost every game. Including against Gryffindor and Slytherin.

"Oh, shut it." Angelina said, smiling at her husband.

"Anyway, why don't you say hello." George said, letting go of the boy, who immediately jumped into Hermione's lap. Hermione winced.

"Hi Aunt Mia!" Fred said, and Hermione immediately glared at George, who was laughing.

"Hey Fred. You know, you're going to have to be a little more careful around me for the next few months." Hermione said.

"Why?" Fred asked.

"Well," I said, taking over the conversation. "you know how when you fall, you get a cut, and then the cut heals and leaves a scar?"

"Yeah. I have a big cut on my leg." He said, with all the innocence a 6 year old has.

"Well, Aunt Mia has two big cuts right here." I said, putting my hand on Fred's chest. "And until her cuts turn into scars, Aunt Mia has to take it easy for a while."

"Oh." Fred said, and then he hugged Hermione. "Sorry."

"It's okay. Why don't you go color a picture for me?" Hermione said.

"Okay!" Fred squealed, and then he threw himself out of Hermione's arms, and ran out of the room. "Come on, mom! We gots to go get my crayons!"

"See you at home." Angelina said, kissing George, and running after her son.

"I swear 'Mione, ever since you gave him those muggle crayons of yours, he has become obsessed with them." George said, laughing.

"Hey, every little kid loves crayons." Hermione replied, laughing.

"Okay okay, fun's over. Hermione needs to go home and rest." I said, getting up.

"Ah, you spoil sport." George said, patting me on the back, and going to sit behind his desk.

"Can I walk? Please?" Hermione asked, when I was about to pick her up.

"I guess. Just be careful." I said, grabbing her hand, and slowly pulling her up. I put my hand on her waist, and put her left arm over my shoulder.

"Bye guys." George said, as we stepped into his fireplace. "Oh, and I'm warning you, I think my sister and her husband are planning something for you."

"Thanks for the warning." I said, as I grabbed a handful of floo powder. "Godric's Hollow!"

A few seconds later, we stepped out of the green flames and into the familiarity of our living room. There were so many memories in here. Our black and white wedding photos, pictures of barbeques, our families, our pets, friends, and other things. There were numerous books everywhere, and this was just the living room. Hermione also had a library.

I walked with her to our bedroom, laid her down on the bed, put a couple pillows on behind her bed, and gave her the book she was reading at the hospital.

"Do you need anything, love?" I asked.

"No. I'm fine." She said, picking up her book.

"'Mione, I'm here to get you whatever you want. I'll ask you again. Do you need or want anything?" I said.

"Well, I guess you could bring me some water and an orange." She mumbled.

"Sure thing." I said, and went into the kitchen. I started to pour her water when the doorbell rang.

"Hey!" Ginny and Harry said, as soon as I opened the door.

"Hey guys. Um, Hermione's in our room. I think she's reading." I said, letting them in the house. I went back into the kitchen, got Hermione's water and orange, and brought it into the room.

"So does it feel weird? I mean, not having anything…. There." Ginny said as I walked in the room.

"Gin!" Harry said, looking at her from where he sat on the bed.

"No no, it's a perfectly good question." Hermione said, when she spotted me at the door. "Thank you, Dray."

I brought her the food, removed the pillows behind her, and replaced them with my body. My chest on her back, my hands around her wait, my head on her shoulders. "Don't let me being here stop you from answering her question." I said.

"Well, Yeah, it does feel weird. I mean, it's not like I had a big chest before, but it feels really weird when I look in a mirror and just see… flat." Hermione said, gaining a look of pity from Ginny. "Oh, I'm sorry Harry, this must make you feel a little awkward."

Harry was about to say something, but Ginny interrupted. "It shouldn't. We had a really big talk not too long ago when he kept asking why I wore combat boots for 5 days every month."

"Combat boots?" I asked, and Harry looked at me and nodded. "Lucky. Hermione wears all black. I swear, it looks like there's a funeral we have to go to every month."

We both shared a laugh, before Hermione and Ginny hit us both on the arm.

"Ow!" We both said, simultaneously.

"Well! U shouldn't joke about that!" Ginny said.

"Yeah! If you guys could be girls for just a month, you would understand." Hermione said to me. "Wait just a second….. I haven't seen your combat boots in a while, Ginny."

"Well…. Um….." Ginny said, before Harry threw her arms around her.

"She's pregnant! 8 weeks along!" Harry screamed.

"Congratulations." I said, to Harry, while Hermione and Ginny were squealing and hugging.

"Harry, we were going to wait until Sunday when everyone has lunch at the borrow to tell everyone! You know my mother isn't going to be happy that she wasn't the first to know." Ginny said, and Harry's face drained of color.

"Well damn." Harry said.

"Good luck with that." Hermione said, smiling.

"Yeah. Well, we better get going. I'm tired." Ginny said, getting up and tugging Harry along. "Bye Draco! Bye Hermione!"

"Bye." We said, as they left the room.

"Do you think that will be us someday?" Hermione asked, after about 5 minutes of silence.

"Of course, love. Just not yet." I said.

"Dray, what if we don't have a boy? Will you still love me?" She asked, and I moved around so I was sitting next to her.

I took a few seconds to just look at her. To stare at her eyes. When I looked at the milk chocolate brown of her eyes, I saw everything I could've ever wanted. I saw a future, kids, and the love I craved as a child, and an adult. I saw everything, and more.

"Love, I want you to listen to me. There is nothing you can ever do that will make me stop loving you. I don't know if that was the cancer talking or not, but believe me when I say I'll always love you. Even if we have a million girls, I'll love you." I said, making her smile.

"I promise you, I'll be strong when you're weak. I'll hold on when you let go. I'll dry every single one of your tears when you cry. I promise you, I am going to love you through this. I know you're scared of what could happen, and I'm not going to lie, I am too. But, you'll never be alone in this. We'll get through this together." I said, and I wiped the tears that were falling from her beautiful brown eyes.

"And, once this is all over with, we'll have kids." Hermione said, as I took both of her hands.

"Yes. We'll have 40 kids. And we'll go completely broke, have to sell the house to feed the kids, and once all of them are grown up, we'll get 8 cats and live in a cardboard box at the end of Diagon Alley." I said, and she closed her eyes and genuinely laughed. "And we'll be _completely_ happy doing all of it."

"Draco," Hermione said, in between laughs. "That sounds awful."

"Yeah, but it made you smile." I said, putting my hand on her cheek, and laughing with her.

_**~ 4 days later ~**_

"Do we have to go?" Hermione asked from her seat in the living room.

"Love, if you want to get better, we have to go to chemo." I said, getting a bag full of Hermione's things. She would have to stay at the hospital for 4 days after the chemo, because this Is the biggest, strongest dose she's getting. They say the first day is always the worst.

"But we just got home 4 days ago. Excuse me if I don't feel like having poison running through my veins." She said, getting up and coming into the kitchen.

"Well, I think I have a way to make it better." I said, putting my arms around her and pulling her close to me.

"What? There's nothing that could make this better. I have to go back to that depressing muggle hospital for four whole days." She grumbled, snuggling closer to my chest.

"Well, that's what I was going to tell you. I begged McGonagall to let you have the therapy there, and she said yes. Madame Pomfrey is going to do it, and then we'll stay in the hospital wing for the four days. She said that she 'owed you'." I said, and her face lit up.

"Really? Yes! I've really missed that place." Hermione said, hugging me tightly, and then going to put her shoes on.

Once everything was ready, We flooed to Diagon Alley, and went back to the muggle hospital, because Hermione had to have her stitches taken out. We had a heck of a time explaining Hermione's Chemo to them, but they eventually let us go. So, we went back to Diagon Alley, and flooed from Weasly's Wizard Wheezes to Hogwarts, where Madame Pomfrey was waiting for us at the front of the hospital wing.

"Hello Hermione! You look so grown up!" Poppy said, hugging Hermione gently around her torso. "And Mr. Malfoy, it's good to see you too. Taking care of your wife, I presume?"

"Of course, Poppy." I said, and she rolled her eyes at the nickname.

"Follow me." She said, and after a few minutes of twists and turns, Hermione was sitting on a hospital bed, and I in a chair beside her, with Poppy standing in front of us. "Now, I'm just going to take a few minutes to explain some things to you."

"Okay." Hermione said, and I gripped her hand. Hard.

"Chemotherapy is a very serious and strenuous thing to have to go through. The medicine is designed to make your body attack itself. These next few days you are going to feel the worst you have probably ever felt." She said, pausing when Hermione shuddered.

_Oh, I'm sure Hermione has been through worse._ I thought. _Hermione went into a war head first, and came out victorious. There's nothing this chick can't do._

"You are going to have sickness, dizziness, fevers, and things of this nature. This is perfectly normal. The first dose of Chemo is always the biggest and the worst. The doses will get smaller according to how your body responds. Any questions?" She asked, and we both shook our heads. "Alright then."

Madame Pomfrey left the room to get the equipment. When she did, I grabbed Hermione's bag, put her special blanket over the bottom half of her body, and handed her a bottle of water.

"Love, I'm here for you, okay? I'm right here, Just hold my hand." I said, sitting down in the chair, and gripping her hand hard.

"I'm scared." She whispered, visibly shaking.

"I know. I am too. But we have to be strong. We can get through this. Do it for our son and our daughter." I said, thinking of our inexistent children.

"Okay. I- I'll try." She said, and I kissed her forehead.

Just then, Madame Pomfrey came back in the room, wheeling a big machine with her. She also had a large needle, and a bag of yellow liquid in her hands.

_It's okay, baby. Just breathe._

_I'm here. We'll get through this._


	6. Princess Hermione and Sir Draco

_So sorry for the long update. I've been working on my story '7 reasons why' for a while, and trying to get that finished. Thank you for the support through all of my stories._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter._

**(Hermione pov)**

I feel….. Normal. Despite the thick yellow liquid streaming from the IV into my arm, I feel relatively the same. I thought it would be this sudden thing. As soon as that stuff gets into my body, the agony begins. I was told it would take a couple hours to work, but I thought Madame Pomfrey was just lying.

What proof did I have that she wasn't?

Well I guess I have it now. As I lay in the hospital bed with Draco clutching my free hand, I can't help but wonder what caused this. What caused this cancer?

Was it something I did? Something I ate? Or was my life too good that someone up there had to ruin it?

"How are you doing?" Draco asks from beside me.

"Um… fine. I guess." I answered as honestly as I could.

Draco looked like he was having to endure the cruciartis curse. His eyes were filled with emotional pain. He looked so…. Tired. Not in the physical sense, but like he was just tired of living.

"What are you thinking about?" I ask, watching as Madame Pomfrey darts round the room gathering potions for me.

"You." He said, making me smile.

"What about me?" I ask.

"Just…. Life. Our life together. How we're going to get through this." He replies. "It really hurts knowing that there's this thing killing my wife, and I can't do a thing to stop it."

"Dray…." I cooed, tangling my hand in his platinum blonde hair. "We'll be okay. I know we will. After all, if we can make it through an entire war, we can surely beat a little cancer."

He shrugs, knowing that I'm right. But, I'm not about one thing.

Cancer is not little. It's one of the biggest things that can happen to someone. It shatters everything you planned and makes you adopt a new life. It throws everything off course, and paves a new path. A much more difficult path than you wanted, but still you are forced to go through it.

"Okay, Hermione. We're done. Now, you need to save your strength. You're going to need it later." She said, leading me over to a bed as Draco followed behind me.

"Are you okay?" Draco asks me, gently pushing the blanket over my stomach.

"Am I okay?" I repeat, thinking of so many ways I could hex him for asking me that question. "Well, despite the fact that I have poison coursing through my veins that's about to make me sick, I'm just peachy."

"Sorry." He mumbled, looking defeated.

I couldn't just let him think he offended me. Granted he did, but I'd never let him think that. "No, I'm sorry. I'm just a little cranky today. You don't have anything to be sorry about." I said, rubbing his hand with mine.

"I love you." He whispered, kissing my wedding ring.

"I love you too." I reply, as I stroke his cheek.

_***4 Hours Later***_

Someone kill me now. Just please, put me out of my misery.

"Can I do something? Anything?" I hear Draco ask from the other side of the curtain.

"There's nothing to do. The next few days are going to be rough. She'll be sick every second and there's not really anything you can do. You just have to wait it out." I hear Madame Pomfrey reply.

I groaned. Why do I have to go through this?

"Draco…" I croaked, taking my head out of the trashcan, wiping the vomit form my mouth.

"Yes, Love?" He asked.

"Can you get me another blanket?" I ask, and he practically sprints over to the supply closet and grabs me a fuzzy blanket.

To think, just three hours ago I was talking happily with my husband, and now, I've thrown up everything I've ever eaten, and gotten the worst chills I've ever had.

"I'm… so…. c-cold." I whimper as he tucks the cloth around me. I have a fever of 101. How can I still be cold?

Great. Now I'm burning up.

I throw the covers off me and they hit the floor. A tear rolls down my cheek as another wave of pain hits my chest. Please, just kill me now.

"Trash-" I say, as Draco hands me the bucket just in time for me the throw up into it. "Thanks."

"No problem." He says, putting the can by my bed.

The pain is a little less intense now. The chills aren't as noticeable. I might be able to keep something down for the next couple of minutes.

"Wa-" I say, but He already has the glass in my hand. I sip from it, not wanted to make myself throw up more than I already am.

As Draco holds my hand while I wait for the next set of chills to come, I hear a door open and a screaming child being carried in. It's only 9 o'clock.

"Shh, calm down." I hear a familiar, masculine voice say.

"But it hurts!" A small feminine voice yell back.

"I know. I'm going to put you down, and go get Madame Pomfrey." The man said. I hear a thump, and then footsteps going toward an office.

It takes me a moment to recognize the voice, but once I do, memories flood my mind. Memories of my school days.

"Madame Pomfrey, Lizzie here was walking to her dorms when she fell and-" I hear the man say, before I interrupt him and pull back the curtain.

"Neville?" I yell.

"Hermione?" Neville says, glancing at Draco and I with shock. "Malfoy?"

"Well. I'll take care of Miss Elisabeth here while you all get reacquainted." Madame Pomfrey says as she wheels the little girl down farther into the hospital wing.

"What are you-" Neville starts, but stops when he sees the IV sticking out of my arm and the trashcan beside my bed. "What happened?"

"You know. I just got cancer. The usual." I joke, but Neville was obviously not laughing. "Sorry. Not funny. But someone here has to have a smile, and I know it won't be me in a few minutes."

"Hello, Longbottom." Draco says from beside me.

"Hello, Malfoy." Neville spits back.

Obviously, those two still didn't like each other.

"So what are you doing here?" I ask Neville.

"As of a month ago, I am the new herbology teacher and head of Gryffindor house. McGonagall had to give it up to be the headmistress." He replies.

"Oh how cool" I say, and then I notice the shiny platinum ring on his left hand. "Anything you forgot to tell me?"

"Oh," He says, blushing. "I got married last week. My wife lives here with me."

"And that would be?" Draco asks.

"Luna Longbottom." He says, and I smile.

"You and Luna?" I yell. "That's great! I just knew you two would be-"

I stop talking when I reach for the trashcan beside me and throw up into it. My chills come back, and I lean into the bed.

"Okay. All excitement gone." I say as I start to sweat. Draco wipes my forehead.

"I'll come back tomorrow, okay? I'll bring Luna, too. She's teaching charms. You look like you could use another girl around." He says. Neville kisses my forehead, and closes the curtain when he leaves.

"Him and Loony Lovegood. Who knew?" Draco says, and I have just enough strength to smack him in the arm. "What?"

"Luna's one of my, best, friends." I say as I cough. "So shut up."

"Sorry." He says, kissing my cheek.

"Mhmm." I say, trying to hold back more vomit. "Please, just talk to me. Anything to keep distract from the pain."

"What do you want me to say?" He asks, concerned.

"Tell me a story." I say, and he clears his throat.

"There once was a princess named Hermione." He started, and I laughed. "What? Too cheesy?"

"No. Just what I need. Keep going." I whisper.

"There once was a princess named Hermione, who lived in a castle guarded by Dragons. And then there was a night named Draco, looking to rescue the princess. Princess Hermione's dad thought that she was so beautiful, and so precious, that no man should ever have her." He started.

I'm sure my dad would _love_ to hear this story.

"So he locked her away in the tallest room of his castle, and had dragons guarding the door. Now, Sir Draco caught a glimpse of the princess, and set out to save her from her prison. He battled many Dragons and knights on his journey to the castle, when finally, he arrived at the door. He threw it open, and killed every single last Dragon there. Then, ever so gently, he opened the door to a room, revealing the princess sleeping inside." H e said, and even did hand motions for added effect.

Uh oh. I'm starting to get dizzy.

"Sir Draco had never seen such a beautiful girl before. He took off his helmet, and kneeled by the princess's bed. He said, 'Oh dear maiden, I have come to rescue you'. But alas, she did not wake up. Sir Draco was confused, but none the less, he thought of what to do." He said. "So, he did what he thought would work. He gently pressed his lips to hers, and kissed her gently. A few seconds passed by before the Princess woke up. 'Princess Hermione, I have come to rescue you' Sir Draco says. Princess Hermione gets up, and follows Sir Draco to his horse."

Draco kisses my nose, and I begin to worry why I'm getting dizzy and things are getting darker.

"He put the Princess on his horse, and then jumped on after her. They both rode off into the sunset, and lived happily ever, where they had loads of kids and nothing bad ever happened to them. The end." He says.

And then his lips are on mine.

That's the only thing I notice before the darkness becomes too much and pulls me under.

**A/N:**_ Thanks for reading! Review!_


	7. A Reason To Smile

_Hey, so, thanks for reading guys!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter._

**(Hermione pov)**

_**A life filled with love may have it's thorns,**_

_**But a life without love won't have any roses.**_

_Hermione._

_Hermione!_

_Wake up, please!_

_Please, stay with me! Please!_

I'm vaguely aware of the voices calling out to me. It's dark and I don't feel anything. That's a change. I'm lying down. I'm looking up but there isn't any light in this room. And then I feel something.

_Pain._

Like electricity just went through my chest.

There it is again.

And suddenly, I can breathe. I look up, in a blurry haze, and see a familiar brown ceiling. I'm gasping for air as things move frantically around me. I'm laying here, wherever I am, waiting for someone to tell me what's happened to me. Where I am. Why I'm here.

"Hermione! It's me! You're okay, love. You're okay now." I hear someone say. I feel a hand grasp mine and a face come into view. After things become less blurry, I can make out the face.

It's Draco. My husband.

And suddenly I remember.

I'm at my old school in the hospital wing. I'm looking at the ceiling I've looked at for 8 years.

_I have Cancer._

I've been given an extremely high amount of chemo. The last thing I remember is Draco telling me a story just before I blacked out.

"Dr- Draco…" I cough out.

"Yes? Yes, love?" He stutters, moving our hands closer to his face as he kisses mine.

"W-what happened?" I ask, still catching my breath.

"Your heart stopped." He whispered.

It all makes sense now. The shock that went through my chest was a reviving spell. The darkness I saw was death looming over me, ready to take me away from this place. The way my hospital gown is open and there are burn marks on my chest.

"H-how? Why?" I ask, bewildered.

"We don't know. Poppy said it was probably from the IL2." He tells me.

Great. Just great.

"Help me sit up." I cough out.

As he puts his hands on my back and gently pushes me up, I see everyone in the room.

Neville with a scared look on his face. Madame Pomfrey standing there holding potions. Luna with a forced smile as she walks toward me.

"What time is it?" I ask.

"A little after midnight." Neville answers before Draco can.

I rub my eyes. "Oh, hey Luna."

"Hello. How are you?" She asks, and smiles.

"I-"

"She was legally dead for 3 minutes. How do you think she's doing?" Draco snaps at her.

"Draco!" I yell with all the strength my voice can carry. I rub my chest as the ache becomes more apparent.

"Sorry, love." He mutters, still holding my hand.

"Um, I'm just, you know, hanging on." I say, chuckling.

"Well that's….. okay, I guess. I'm really sorry I forgot to tell you, but um…" Luna stutters.

"Yes?" I ask, impatiently, feeling some of the numbness that was in my legs go away.

"We're pregnant." Neville says for her. "Well, I'm not, she is, you get the point."

"Oh, that's great!" I say, silently trying not to cry as I realize all of my friends are having kids but me.

"Yeah. I'm already partial to the name Lysander." She asks, and then turns around to ask Madame Pomfrey a question.

Neville mouths 'we're still not sure on names' as he follows Luna.

"Lysander?" Draco asks, laughing a little.

"Hey, your name is Draco." I say, and his smile turns into a frown.

"My name is incredibly normal, thank you very much!"

"Yeah, normal for a weird person." I mutter.

"What was that?"

"On, nothing! Nothing!" I snicker. "Anyway, you know, I feel a lot better, for some reason."

"Herm-"

"Okay, Mrs. Malfoy, that's enough. You have to rest. Your body is under a great amount of stress right now, and the restfulness you are currently feeling is purely adrenaline. So please, best to conserve your strength." Madame Pomfrey says, walking towards me and gently pushing down on the bed.

"Fine." I mutter, laying back and closing my eyes. I start to hum until I get tired, somewhere, sometime, I fall asleep.

**(Draco pov)**

Her breathing evens out, and her lolls to one side. Her chest is rising and falling, and a look of peacefulness makes it's way across her face.

She's asleep.

"Hermione." I whisper, ghosting my hand across her face, just to make sure she's really sleeping. When I get no reply, I lean back into the chair I'm sitting in, close my eyes, and throw my hands over my face.

Then, I cry.

So many silent, sorrow-filled tears roll down my cheeks like a river, falling through my fingers and onto the cold brown floor.

"Draco, Why are you crying?" Luna whispers, and I look up to see that it's just her. Neville must have gone somewhere else.

"N- nothing. Never mind." I reply, wiping the water off my face.

"It'll help if you tell me." She says, sitting in the chair next to me, and putting her hand on my shoulder.

I sigh. "Luna, my wife just_ died_." I say, trying to keep my voice a whisper. "She was dead for three minutes. I thought I was going to lose her."

"But, she's still here, Draco. She's okay."

"We don't know that!" I shoot back at Luna. "We have _no idea_ what's going on inside her body right now. She could fall into a coma and never wake up, all within the next 5 minutes! Her organs could shut down, and she could _die!_"

"Dra-" Luna starts.

"No!" I don't realize I'm yelling, or the fact that Hermione is awake and looking at me. "Don't you see? I haven't been there for her! She can't die! I was supposed to be this good freaking husband and be there for her, but no, I was just the jerk that didn't even kiss her before surgery! I have a lot to make up for, Luna!_So she can't die!_"

"Ahem." Hermione coughs. I look over at her, plop down in my seat, and put my face in my hands. "Could you give us a minute, Luna?"

"Sure." She mumbles, getting up, probably to find her husband.

"Draco, look at me." She says. She then reaches over and grabs my hand. "Look at me."

I tilt my head up, and wipe my tears.

"Baby, where did all that come from?" She asks, rubbing my palm.

"From here." I point to my heart. "It's the truth."

"Draco, I-"

"Just…. Don't do that thing where you let my mistakes go, so that I won't feel bad. Just don't." I say, putting my hand back on my lap.

"Draco, don't you _dare_ do this to me." She says, her voice suddenly deadly. "Now you look at me, right now."

I look up.

"Draco Lucius Malfoy, you have done a lot of wrong in your life. _A lot_. But the worst thing you've ever done, is what you're doing right now. You're punishing yourself for your own mistakes. I've forgiven you. Everyone has forgiven you. But you have to forgive yourself." She says to me. "You are not a bad husband. The fact that you didn't leave, even when you were being a jerk during my surgery, shows just how good of a husband you really are. You stayed with me. I know this is hard for you, especially because of your sister."

I flinch at the memory.

"But you have to realize what's going on here. Yes, I could die. Yes, I could never have kids. Yes, my life will forever be changed because of this. Even though you may not realize it, you have been there for me. You stuck to our vows. In sickness and in health, till death do us part. Now, I know that the death part could come sooner than we planned, but it's okay." She said, and I shook my head. "This is just the way life is sometimes. I'm not going to lie to you. I have no idea if I'll die within the next minutes, or the next five years. None of us know. So stop beating yourself up over things that happened in the past. You can't change it. But what you can do, is focus on now. Just take everything a day at a time."

She rubs my hand, and I look up at her with an 'are you stupid' expression.

"You don't get it, do you?" I ask, standing up. "You are my life, Hermione! You are my everything! I can't just block out our future! You are the thing that gets me up in the morning. You are my heart, my soul, my body, and my mind."

"Draco." She says, pity almost showing in her voice.

"_You give me a reason to smile._" I say, and she looks at her hands. "Without you here, I don't think I can ever smile again. You can't just ask me to stop imagining what would happen if, tomorrow, you weren't here. I know this is a lot to ask, but I have to ask it anyway. Please, don't ask me to just focus on today. Because if you do, and I say yes, that'll be a lie. Because I'll never stop thinking about tomorrow."

"Okay." She whispers. "Just, promise me something."

"Anything."

"Promise that you'll never doubt how good of a man or husband you are. Because you're so much more than what you make yourself out to be."

"I promise." I twist my pinky around hers for good measure, and she smiles.

"Draco." She pipes up after a few minutes.

"Yes, love?"

"I'm sorry I can't give you children." She whispers.

My heart breaks into dozens of small, tiny fragments. I look at her with confusion and awe, grab her hand, and tilt her chin up.

"Don't you ever say that." I reply. "We have no idea if we can have children or not. I don't care if we never have children. We can always adopt. I won't love you any less if it turns out we can't. I think we can, though. We just have to get through this first. So, don't ever doubt yourself."

"De ja vu, huh?" I say, and she laughs.

"I love you." She says, and I kiss her cheek.

"I love you, too. With everything I have." I reply, smiling at her.

_She's just so beautiful. Please, let this moment last forever._

**A/N:** _Thank you for reading, guys! Review, please, and I promise I'll try to reply, even if it is just a thank you. I read every single one of them! Thanks! -Nikki a.k.a.- Twipotterfreak28_

**P.S.-**_ Sorry if the ending seems a little rushed._


	8. The Cruelest Surprise

_Disclaimer: I own nothing._

* * *

_Alright, so now it's time for me to take over._

_I know how I want this to end, but the fun part is and always will be the journey. The first few chapters might be a bit short, but that's ok._

_We've already read about Hermione's first experience with chemotherapy. Now to see how the treatment is going to affect her._

_Just sit back and enjoy._

_Love always,_

_Avoline_

* * *

**(Hermione's POV)**

I slowly began to wake up. I still felt weak from the chemotherapy a few days ago, and Draco had been letting me sleep in to try and regain a little bit of my energy. I could still tell that he was scared.

But I would not go out like Anna. I was going to fight twice as hard. I was going to live. I was going to give Draco the children he dreamed of. I would grow stronger and beat this.

Just as soon as I could get my tail end out of bed.

I sat up slowly, my head spinning slightly with each movement. Once I was sitting up good, I gently ruffled my frizz of hair. Something didn't feel quite right, like my hair had changed texture or something. I brushed it off with a slight shake of my head, until I caught sight of something on my hand as I reached for the covers.

My heart stopped. This couldn't be happening. No, no, no, this wasn't _fair!_ Oh, Merlin, no one had warned me that it might happen this quickly. Now there's no way Draco is going to stick around. Why would he? Oh, gods, he'll be so disgusted just from looking at me.

"Hermione," he called as he neared the door. I couldn't move. I was still staring, horrified, at my hand, even as he walked in. "Hermione, what is that?"

"I think," I began, swallowing hard. "I think it's my hair." He stood, staring, not saying anything. Then, he made his way to my side, gently took the clump of my hair that was in my hand away, and threw it in the trash can.

"As much as I love your hair, it's been a pain for you to care for," he whispered. "I don't care if every strand falls out, Hermione. Maybe it'll grow back and be more manageable."

"But won't everyone else," I chocked out.

"Everyone else can keep their mouths shut," he countered. "They don't know. And I dare them to say anything about how you look, love." His arm wrapped around me, and I buried my face into his shirt. "I won't let them talk about you like you're dirt. I'll tell them all to shut up and apologize. Just go back to sleep, baby." I nodded against his chest.

Sleep sounded good right about now.

* * *

**(Draco's POV)**

I held her until I was sure she was asleep. Gently, oh so gently, I laid her back down and pulled the covers up to her shoulders. After the "surprise," she deserved to be comfortable. I gathered up any stray clumps that were on the covers and tossed them in the trash bin.

Then I went into the living room, closing the door behind me.

Why? Of all the things to happen to her, why did _that_ have to happen? She had struggled to get her hair to a point where it wasn't a ball of frizz, and now it was going to fall out. It wasn't fair. Anna got to keep all of her hair, even though it looked like straw when she passed. Why did Hermione have to watch hers fall out?

I sat on the couch and stared at the floor. I had never felt so drained. I just wanted everything to go back to normal. I wanted my wife healthy. I wanted us to try for a baby. I wanted everything to be okay again.

"Draco?" I looked up to see Mother's face in the fireplace. "Draco, is everything okay?" I shook my head and moved to sit in front of the fireplace.

"The chemotherapy did a number on her," I answered. "She woke up this morning to find that, of all the things, her hair has started falling out." She gasped.

"Oh, the poor dear," she whispered. "How is she holding up?" I sighed.

"Better than I am, that's for sure," I muttered.

"Still thinking about Anna," she inquired. I nodded. "Son, you have to let that go. You were only twelve."

"But it started exactly the same, Mum," I murmured. "I can't help but be scared. And now this." I shook my head. "I don't know how she keeps finding a reason to fight."

"Because she has a dream, son," my mother soothed. "She wants to give you a family, and she wants to survive this, even if the odds are against her." She laughed a little, which of course left me confused. "The odds have always been against her, really." I smiled a bit.

"Yeah, they have," I mused.

"Why don't you fix her a nice dinner," she suggested. "Maybe that will cheer both of you up." I nodded.

I was getting a bit hungry.


End file.
